Still Waters
by monamumbles
Summary: The things that go bump in the night are probably your friends.
1. Superman

**Still Waters**  
Superman  
_I don't wanna see your sorry ass back here until you apologize, you dumb son of a bitch! No one needs you here! All you do is take up space anyway! Take up space in my house and at that school. Might as well drop out now and get a job with me at the factory, but you'll probably fuck that up, too! Leave, see if I give a shit! You'll just come crawling back on your stomach, begging me to let you back in here! Where you gonna go, huh? You don't have no one but us, so I'll see your sorry ass real soon!_

As much as he tried to believe his father's broken record words did not affect him anymore, Edward still felt his breath escape his lungs when his father went into a rage. The weight of those words pressed down onto his chest, making it hard to breathe and even harder to speak. It had been another fight about God-knows-what. Most of the time, neither remembered how it began, but it rarely ended any differently.

With nowhere to go, Edward stormed out of the house only to find himself tiptoeing around to the back. He quietly made it to their tool shed where a dim overhead light and moldy sleeping bag awaited him. There wasn't much space with the lawnmower, rakes, and power tools, but it would have to be his bed for the time being. He slipped off his sneakers and crawled into the sleeping bag as if it were the most natural thing in the world. But after finding solace in a musty shed over the years, it _had_ become almost second nature to Edward.

Every scratch at the door and every moth drawing nearer to the light kept him from getting a truly restful sleep, however. It was difficult to tune out his father's words from his mind. It swarmed his head like those very bugs, flickering their tattered wings against the light. Hours passed before he fell asleep, but even in his dreams there was little peace.

.

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The sound of his father's car peeled off and behaved as Edward's alarm clock the next morning. Edward stretched as he got up, noisily working out the kinks in his body from sleeping on the cold, wood floor all night. The night stayed with him, daring to pull him back into a deep slumber, but he gently fought the sleep. When he got inside the house, his mother was groaning incoherently on the couch. She reached a sluggish hand out to him, but he pulled away from her as if she were a bum on the street.

During the forty minutes left before classes started, Edward took a quick shower, washing a dusty spider web out of his dark brown hair. He passed his face in the mirror, barely recognizing himself. Bright red veins stretched across the whites of his eyes, reaching to touch the pale green and dark circles were beginning to form on either side of his face. He pitied the sick stranger looking back at him, wondering the last time he looked human.

After throwing on a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of jeans found on the floor of his trashed room, Edward left again. On his way to school, he planted headphones in his ears and turned it up loud enough to hear it, but not loud enough to drown out the sounds of oncoming traffic. About five songs later, he was walking through the nearly empty Forks High parking lot, and into school. He casually strolled into Calculus just as the bell rang and took his seat at the far corner of the room.

"Okay, if you would please pass your homework to the front, we'll start the quiz," Mr. Stewart instructed, shuffling through a stack of papers. As the whole class passed their worksheets to the front, Edward placed his head atop his folded arms. "If you're not going to do the homework, Mr. Masen, I at least expect you to stay awake in my classroom."

Edward held in a comment because he didn't feel like getting into it with anyone so early. He had a burgeoning headache that didn't need to be aggravated.

"You're allowed to leave when you're done, but if you're smart, you'll make use of the entire hour." Mr. Stewart passed out the exams; like little wind-up dolls, the students began to work.

Everyone pulled out their calculators and Edward tried not to smirk when he heard a few people groan upon flipping through the somewhat lengthy test. His headache made it difficult to concentrate at times, but despite the pulsations against his temples, he managed to finish the calculations and hand in the exam with a half hour left in the period. Halfway down the hall, he heard Mr. Stewart call his name. Edward froze mid-step with a slight screech of his sneakers against the linoleum. All of his muscles tensed, causing his headache to intensify. With wavering restraint, he turned around, walking a few paces towards Mr. Stewart.

"Edward, you barely come to my class, and when you do show up, you never have the homework done. Yet, you're the only person in any of my classes to ace their tests. You have the ability to be in AP classes- easy. I bet if you'd worked a little harder last year, you could've skipped this year and gone straight to college."

"You have this conversation with me every three weeks. What do you want me to say to you because I don't think my answer of 'stay out of my business' does anything to assuage you."

Mr. Stewart sighed, arms akimbo, looking at Edward the way he'd looked at himself earlier in the mirror. "I think you should see the school counselor-"

Edward about-faced, sucking his teeth, and walked away without so much as a glance behind. His patience was wearing very thin that morning. He surely didn't have enough for that conversation.

He wandered into the science wing, looking in every classroom until finding the right one. Moving out of the teacher's line of sight, he tried to bring attention to himself by pantomiming himself fashioning a noose and tying it around his neck. He got a few eyes towards the door as the teacher wrote some formulas on the board, but not the particular pair of eyes he'd been targeting. After struggling with the invisible noose, he appeared to be lifeless, hanging limply with his eyes closed and his tongue out of his head. People laughed, but luckily, the oblivious chemistry teacher believed they had understood her joke about a neutron walking into a bar.

Jasper finally looked up, but it took another classmate tapping him on the shoulder. Edward leaned against the wall and waited for the door to open. Out walked a tall, lanky kid swinging a small wooden plank in his hands. Jasper looked worlds apart from Edward's scruffy appearance in designer jeans and a grey cardigan.

"Did you get kicked out of Stewart's class again?" Jasper asked, showing genuine concern.

Edward smirked as they began to walk down the hall to nowhere in particular. "Just aced a test and apparently it was time for his bi-weekly intervention. I think he wants to be my mentor or something perverted like that."

"What'd he say this time?"

"He suggested I go see the guidance counselor," Edward's smirk progressed into a light snicker at the mere mental image of himself walking into the counselor's office for a heart-to-heart. "I don't know what the hell his problem is."

"He's just trying to help."

"Yeah, help himself feel better by talking to a troubled youth. Honestly, I could care less. He's an irritating prick with a Superman complex."

"So you've never thought about it? Seeing the counselor?"

Jasper felt the flicker of exhilaration spark in the air. It was so strong and felt out of place because it hadn't been coming from either of them. He looked around only to find that they were the only two in the hall.

"Well, shit," Edward mumbled, bringing Jasper's attention back to the conversation. "Don't tell me they got to you, too, man."

Jasper maintained a stern and unwavering glare.

"Alright, it crossed my mind, but I don't like the idea of talking about my personal life with someone I don't know. I don't need more people judging me. I get enough of that from everyone else in here."

"I don't think people judge you."

"Oh yeah? Last Friday, the janitor told me to stop cutting class or I'd end up like him. You know you're fucked when the damn janitor is making you reevaluate your life."

It was evident to Jasper that talking about his personal life was off limits whether Edward knew the person or not. They'd become close over the last year, and Jasper had to do a lot of guessing and piecing together with what very little Edward told him about his home life.

"Hey, can I crash at your place tonight? Me and my dad got into again."

"Yeah, sure," Jasper agreed without giving it much thought. "But I'm working on a project tonight with someone from class for a few hours after school."

"It's cool. I'll stay out of the way."

Once they got to the end of the wall, Jasper checked the time on his wristwatch. It amused Edward every time because most of the other students relied on their cell phones to keep time. Jasper kept a watch like he had business meetings to attend.

"Gotta get back to chem, but I'll meet you after school?"

The two agreed, making plans to meet at Jasper's car later. Jasper went back the way he came, and that feeling of sheer excitement zipped through the air again, creeping up around Jasper as if it was going to touch his hand. He stopped halfway down the hall before turning around quickly and catching a wisp of dark hair disappear inside an unoccupied classroom.

That's when he'd realized he'd been feeling this sensation for a few days now. He thought it to be random bursts of emotion from his classmates, but now surmised that it had been from one person. He had every intention of marching into that room and unveiling this person, but something told him to stay away. It wasn't an emotion exactly, but somehow the urge simply lessened.

"Stop following me," Jasper demanded just loud enough for them to hear. The palpable enthusiasm now turning into great anxiety. "For your own safety."

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_Wow, I've been totally out of this whole fanfiction loop for quite some time now, but I thought this would be fun to share. It isn't all totally angst and sad boys. Stick around, folks._  
_~Mona_

twitter: monamumbles  
follow me on twitter if you want to see me rant about writing and editing and such.


	2. Teen Wolf

**Still Waters  
**Teen Wolf  
School spirit was the last thing on Bella's mind as the cheerleaders did their routine in the middle of the cafeteria. Even when she attempted to look away, flashes of blue and yellow invaded her peripheral vision like strobe lights at a rave party. It made her stomach turn, and if she already hadn't seen something flying around the cafeteria chili earlier, the routine would have definitely put her off the food. One particular member of the table sat across from her, craning his neck like an ostrich would its predator.

It only took a few loud snaps of her fingers beside his ears to get his attention. "You're gonna pop a vessel, or something, Seth. Why don't you just turn all the way around so you can get a better look at those pompoms?"

"What?" His face was contorted, still slightly pudgy from the awkward baby fat puberty hadn't fully taken away. Seth looked to and from both of his sisters. "No, no, I was just…"

"You were just drooling over Alice, ya sicko!" Leah laughed as she ate her vending machine cookies. In front of Leah was a graveyard of empty wrappers and crumbs. When she'd topped off those cookies, her hand dove into her purse, hoping to find quarters for another snack. Her tongue poked out when she realized there wasn't enough money left for those savory BBQ potato chips.

Bella retrieved a very crinkled dollar bill from her pocket, which made Leah smile entirely too much for a bag of processed food. "Don't spend it all in one place, kid."

Leah practically skipped to the vending machines, ironing out the wrinkles of the money with her hands. Thankfully, the routine didn't take very long, including the time it took for Rosalie Hale to remind everyone about the upcoming football game.

"Bella," Seth whispered, leaning in slightly.

"Mmm?"

"_Bellaaaa!_" He said in a harsh whisper that caught her attention.

With his eyes, he motioned to his hand on the table, and her eyes were saucers at the sight. His hand had disappeared under thick, fluffy brown fur, and his nails had grown inches long.

"HOLY SHIT!" Bella yelled, catching the attention of a few people in the immediate vicinity. Seth quickly dragged his hand under the table; his dark skin flushed red at the attention and anxiety stemming from his current predicament. "Get up, _get up_!"

There was no hesitation from either of them as they popped up from the table. They meandered through twenty-five percent of the school's populace to get to the vending machines where Leah had her cheek pressed up against the glass. She was staring longingly at her bag of chips that had gotten stuck halfway.

"Leah, we got a little emergency here," Bella casually slipped in, looking around for any wandering eyes.

"_Tell me about it!_ This piece of crap ate my dollar!"

"Bigger emergency, honey. We gotta go _now_."

Leah faced them, seeing Seth do a horrible job at concealing his furry arm behind a backpack and now it appeared his canine teeth were becoming much more pronounced. Leah's face lost all color as she pulled his hood down over his head and face. Bella shared the same look of urgency before rushing Seth out of the cafeteria doors and down the hallway. They didn't dare stop until they found a vacant janitor's closet down an empty corridor. Bella locked the door while Leah assessed their situation.

"How the hell did this happen?" Leah examined Seth's protruding snout now taking over his face.

"The kid's hormones all messed up," Bella tried to explain without going into too much detail. She didn't want to embarrass him any more than he had been.

Leah took a moment to catch on before her face twisted with disgust, "Eughhh!" Seth looked to both of them with worried eyes that were quickly changing from dark brown to pale yellow.

Bella stroked his shoulder in hopes of calming his nerves a bit, though she needed someone to also calm her own. "How do we stop it?"

"Seth, you have to calm down," Leah warned, stating the very obvious. "I know you're nervous, but we _cannot_ go full-on wolf right now, do you hear me?"

Seth nodded, unable to speak clearly without his jumbled words coming out as animalistic whimpers and growls. What Bella watched next was something she had seen many times over the past few years, yet still fascinated her.

Leah pressed her forehead against Seth, closing her eyes while he did the same. She hummed a familiar lullaby, which was low, but the soft sound made the air in the room grow stale. Her voice even transcended the buzzing of the overhead fluorescent light. Bella could then hear her heart beat in rhythm with the song as it neared its end. A short, sweet song that was strong enough to chase away the fur and sharp teeth. When Leah opened her eyes, she gave him a quick inspection, making sure not a hair was out of place.

"Well, you still smell like a puppy, but it'll have to be good enough," Bella observed, gently jabbing him in the shoulder.

"We've gotta get this under control, Seth." Leah rubbed her head, feeling great pressure rising at her temples the more she spoke.

"Maybe…" Seth hedged. "…maybe I can talk to Sam."

Leah visibly flinched at the mention of his name. "Maybe."

Bella noisily cleared nothing from his throat, "Mm, so, if you're done going Mr. Hyde on us, we should get out of the broom closet, yes?"

After checking if the hall was clear, they made their escape. Bella and Leah kept a close eye on him as he took a few books out of his locker. His guards only embarrassed him further during their conspicuous glances to make sure he didn't turn into a monster again. For the remainder of the lunch period, the two watched him until the bell rang, and even then, they walked him to class as if he were a child going to his first day of kindergarten.

Leah and Bella reluctantly went their separate ways for the rest of the day, periodically checking their phones or listening for distant screams in the hallway.

.

Classes thankfully went on without incident, and the girls felt relief wash over them when the dismissal bell rang, signaling the day's end. Jasper waited by his car, getting the sensation that he was being watched once again. He scanned the muddled noises and emotions swarming around him, but there was an unnerving void whenever he would get too close to his target.

Just when he was getting lost in thought, Edward showed up with his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. He seemed as though he would collapse at any moment, if he wasn't using the roof of Jasper's car for support. Jasper tried not to feel pity for his friend because he didn't feel very much like a friend when he did. On those days it was difficult not to pity.

After a few minutes of silent waiting, Bella showed up later with a similar look of depletion. "Hey," Bella waved at them.

"'Afternoon, Bella," Jasper greeted politely as Edward raised a hand to her. "Edward's going to be joining us. Are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yep," Bella said. They all got into the car, Edward taking the passenger seat and Bella taking the seat behind Jasper.

It was a very quiet ride over, much to Jasper's disappointment. It was mostly attributable to Edward falling asleep as soon as they pulled out of the school parking lot. He didn't understand how his peers never wanted to talk about their days or fill the silence with some form of conversation. It was all very juvenile to him.

Bella wasn't much of a riding mate, but Jasper expected as much from her. They'd crossed paths around school, but he'd barely heard her speak at all. They'd been in class together for two months already, and the first time he heard he clearly heard her voice was when they'd been paired as partners.

There seemed to be barely a handful of people able to hold a conversation with Bella, but two of those people were her step siblings, Leah and Seth. Jasper noted over the years that dark clothing often put many people off, which seemed to be her goal most days. And it was all black or dark tones for Bella, save for her deep turquoise hair with a life of its own. Even as they rode down the windy back roads with the windows open, her blue-green hair whipped all about her face, and she did nothing to tame it.

When they arrived at Jasper's house, the three walked inside. Edward went straight to the kitchen to get a quick snack, immediately feeling right at home, but Bella wordlessly took in the home's expanse. She knew houses like this existed in Forks, but she had never actually been inside one with vaulted ceilings and glamorous crown molding. Jasper and Bella immediately got into trading facts about the knowledge they'd gained researching.

"What's this project on?" Edward asked, twenty minutes into Jasper and Bella's brainstorming session. He came in from the kitchen and took a seat adjacent from them on the arm of a chair.

"It's a PowerPoint on The Netherlands' culture," Bella informed him without looking up from her highlighting.

"Kind've elementary school, don't you think?" Edward mumbled with his mouth full of apple bits.

"Mm," Jasper agreed, shrugging his shoulders. He was bored before he even began this project because this was the third time he'd done a presentation on The Netherlands. "We're thinking about bringing in Butter cookies and tulips, but…"

Edward unenthusiastically nodded his head. "Isn't that where Amsterdam is? Could probably get more people's attention if you focus on the red light district."

"We'll touch on that, but I'm sure that's what Mrs. Yamamoto is expecting," Bella interjected. "A couple of stoner kids, talking about the tourists' attraction to the pot."

"So you should give her more than that. Talk about the drugs and the sex, but put a different spin on it. Give her something she hasn't heard a million times already. Worth a shot." He got up and left the room, heading back to the kitchen for a bag of chips where he noisily crinkled the bag.

Bella stopped her furious note-taking for a moment and looked over at Jasper with the cogs in her brain set into action. "You know, I think he's right. Maybe we shouldn't be so afraid to push the envelope."

"What? You wanna put a little something extra in the butter cookies?" Jasper mentioned, eliciting a smile from Bella. It caught him off guard because amusing her was something he didn't think he could do, and he also hadn't meant for it to be a joke.

"If we do focus on the Red Light District, we can talk about the fun side, but we can also talk about the sex trafficking and murder. It could make for an extremely interesting presentation."

For the first time since they sat down to work on the project, Jasper did not have to feign his interest.

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* * *

i came entirely too close to posting the next few chapters all this week, but i know i should pace myself. i should stick to a schedule for once. my plan is to update every saturday, and so far it's working out pretty well. hope you liked this installment. if ya did, please leave a review. :)  
~mona

twitter: monamumbles  
follow me on twitter if you want to see me rant about writing and editing and such.


	3. What A Pretty Fish

**Still Waters  
**What A Pretty Fish  
For nearly an hour and a half, Jasper and Bella highlighted and made notations, discussing The Netherlands' history. It was more than enough for the first part of their presentation, and the next time they met, it would focus on modern day life. Once it was dark outside, Bella called her stepmother to pick her up from Jasper's place.

After she left, Jasper sought out Edward, who had crashed hard on Jasper's bed with a bag of M&M's under the arm. Jasper slipped the bag out from underneath Edward and popped a handful in his mouth before going into one of the house's studies. His adoptive mother, Esme, was grading papers at her desk. She smelled the putrid chocolate from the down the hall when Edward was eating it. That alone was enough to keep a grimace on her face, but now Jasper was in the doorway, noisily gnawing on them.

"How can you eat that garbage? They taste like fresh cement," she asked, fanning the scent from her face.

"I had to help Edward eat a whole bag of this one night. After a while, you just become desensitized to it."

She put a dainty finger under her thin nose as she spoke, "Is he staying over?"

Jasper nodded, keeping his amusement at bay. He rolled down the top of the bag, and held it behind his back, briefly appeasing her. It didn't take an empath to see the worry etching into her face.

"Oh, you know I don't like this," she said, shaking her head. "I love Edward, but it's hard having to pretend at home, too."

"I know, Esme but he's having problems at home again. He was trying to block it out today, but I could feel the torment radiating from him even before he got to my car this afternoon."

Esme sighed, "Do not make the mistake of pitying that boy, Jasper. You may be older than me, but I am still your mother, which means you've got to listen to me."

Esme cracked a smile that made her high cheekbones even more distinct. Jasper laughed as he stepped further into the room to sit on the edge of her desk.

"Someone's been following me," he announced seriously, all fun now out of his voice.

"What do you mean?" A minor shred of anxiety pulsed through her, and she couldn't tell if it came from her or Jasper.

"I'm pretty sure it's a girl, and it has only been at school, but she's been following for the last three days. I'm not sure if we should tell Carlisle."

These details calmed her a bit, if only minutely. "What if it's just some girl with a crush? It wouldn't be the first time."

"I feel almost threatened when she's around, though. I can't read her at all. It's almost as if there's this mental block around her. Like she's blurred out, or something."

"Hm, maybe you _should _tell Carlisle. I'd hate to have to move again. I really like these kids I'm working with now. Though, it would get me out of that stupid bake sale next month-"

"At least you get to _be_ an adult. If I have to do one more PowerPoint presentation, I'm dropping out of school and becoming a bum."

Esme laughed as he left the room, but she couldn't help her mind from wandering to his stalker. She could tell he was doing much to keep her calm, yet it hadn't been enough to truly keep her at peace. Staring off into space seemed to occupy a few moments of her time, but her confusion slowly turned into disgust when she realized Jasper had purposely left the bag of candy on her desk.

At 6 in the morning, Edward arose from his sugar coma to find Jasper moving through the room. He was already dressed and appeared well-rested for that time of morning, while Edward felt and looked as though he'd been run over a few times and left out in the road for a bit. It was often the routine at Jasper's house; Edward would fall asleep and wake up nearly twelve hours later feeling like he'd only been asleep for twelve minutes. Jasper had managed to sleep less time, yet he always appeared to have showered, shaved, and gotten dressed all before the sun came out.

Jasper gave him a ride to Edward's, but adhered to strict instructions not to park in front of the house. Instead, the car was parked down the road while Edward ran home and took a shower. When he returned, they were off to school and made it there with only a few minutes to spare. They went in different directions, Jasper going to literature class and Edward heading to the gymnasium.

Edward decided to actually get changed that day for gym because the weather was mild enough to play flag football outside. Gym was sometimes a great place to work out some of the aggression he didn't even realize he'd been harboring. Throughout the game, he forgot about the flags and tackled a couple of guys for the ball.

At the end of the period, his gym uniform was full of grass stains and mud. He even found a daisy buried in his shoelace. Muscles that hadn't been used in a while came alive and ached, but it was just what he needed. He went through the motions for the rest of the day, and even surprised a few students and teachers by handing in homework.

Edward was at Jasper's car after school to inform his friend that he had decided to return home that afternoon.

"You sure you want to go home?" Jasper gently pressed. He hoped that somewhere along the lines, he hadn't inadvertently made Edward feel unwelcomed. He quickly added, "My mother doesn't mind having you over, you know."

"Nah, it's cool. Kind've miss my bed," he lied. Edward didn't really want to go home, but he felt embarrassed about taking over Jasper's bed last night and being driven to and from home without anything to give in return.

"What's this?" Jasper said, taking something shiny from the hood of his car. It was wrapped in a simple note that read GOOD LUCK in block letters. Inside the paper was a large, bronze coin with Russia's coat of arms. The year stamped on the coin was 1844, and Jasper immediately looked up in a panic. He surveyed the lot only to be met with the same impenetrable void.

"Whoa, that looks old," Edward gushed. "Is that real?"

"Well. I'm not sure," Jasper told him, inspecting the coin, knowing very well it was quite real.

Edward laughed, patting Jasper on the back. "Your secret admirer is weird is hell."

"Yeah," Jasper forced a laugh, then tossed it into the air. Edward caught it with ease. "You can have it."

"Gee, thanks. Least I know our friendship is worth something." Edward pretended not to care for the gift, but it was exciting and old and very, very shiny. He flipped it back and forth, unable to read the foreign language or tell if it was real. "I'll see ya, man."

Edward began walking out of the school parking lot without even waiting for Jasper's reply. He made sure not to let the coin divert his attention away from the busy intersections, but it was hard to deny its presence. About a few yards into his walk home, his steps seemed to have an echo. Behind him, were a group of freshmen girls who were walking much faster than he was. Casually, he moved aside to let them pass by. Not much time elapsed before the sound of echoing footsteps returned, much louder, and he simply moved aside, looking down at the metal in his hands. When no one came by, he looked up and saw that there was no one behind or in front of him. He shoved the coin into his pocket before setting off across the street towards the wooded area near the school.

It was when Edward began to turn onto the normal path for his shortcut did he get paranoid. When the sounds of passing cars and muddled conversations weren't around, the echoed footsteps became much more apparent. He turned around and as quickly as he did, the footsteps stopped and he saw nothing but the trees around him. He was perfectly still for a few moments, looking for any signs of movement. Feeling quite silly that someone would be following him of all people, Edward faced the path ahead.

Despite his mind attempting to rationalize, cold sweat made the fabric of his clothes feel uncomfortable against his skin. They almost seemed to burn as they rubbed against his body. Edward was breathing harder now, and it was almost loud enough to block out his heart racing in his ears and the river in the distance. It seemed even the birds in the trees and animals in the woods had all grown silent. His foot slowly rose to take another step, but before his sneakers met with the soft earth underneath, he heard the unmistakable thump of someone else's shoes hitting the ground.

Edward quickly turned around, not believing his own eyes. James Kowalski- or some _thing_ resembling James Kowalski –dragged behind him. The thing was slightly hunched and appeared to have stretched James' skin over its knobby skull. A slight green tint was on its skin, and it was bulging with bumps. Its greasy, limp, pale hair was pasted to its forehead with sweat.

"Skarb?" it rasped in a voice that in no way resembled James' as it limped slowly forward with dirty, sharp teeth bared.

Edward felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest while his stomach fell to the floor. He turned, but this time he took off, running as fast as he could away from this creature. His backpack was long abandoned when he heard shallow breaths behind him as well as the fast footfalls matching his speed. He was so concerned with pushing forward, he didn't see the embankment. Much like a tire rolling down the hill, his body tumbled down over rocks and twigs. They cut his face and hands and tore at his clothes until the harsh current of the river below broke his fall.

Being thrown about and thrashed against rocks- Edward was at the water's mercy. As much as he tried to fight the current, it fought back much harder. His head met with the surface of a large boulder, and suddenly he let go. It seemed quiet under the water despite the tumultuous waves being broken against the rocks. He didn't seem to be fighting with the water anymore; rather, he was letting it guide him. To where, he did not know.

The water filled his lungs, burning as he breathed deep, but there was only mild alarm. He couldn't feel his limbs, nor was he really aware of anything but the iridescent shimmering in the water. He believed it to be the sun at first, finding it comforting that it was the last thing he was going to see, but it wasn't the sun. He saw the tail swim fast past him in a blur of color. Too fast for his now sluggish mind. Its scales shimmered like rows of opal shells, growing larger as it led to the ivory skin of a girl with turquoise hair floating all around her face.

_What a pretty fish_, Edward thought as his eyes closed.

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* * *

_splash_ with tom hanks is one of my top ten favourite movies, and he's a total babe in it.  
~mona


	4. Poison

**Previously  
**_Edward quickly turned around, not believing his own eyes. James Kowalski- or some thing resembling James Kowalski –dragged behind him. The thing was slightly hunched and appeared to have stretched James' skin over its knobby skull. A slight green tint was on its skin, and it was bulging with bumps. Its greasy, limp, pale hair was pasted to its forehead with sweat._

_"Skarb?" it rasped in a voice that in no way resembled James' as it limped slowly forward with dirty, sharp teeth bared._

_Edward felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest while his stomach fell to the floor. He turned, but this time he took off, running as fast as he could away from this creature. His backpack was long abandoned when he heard shallow breaths behind him as well as the fast footfalls matching his speed. He was so concerned with pushing forward, he didn't see the embankment. Much like a tire rolling down the hill, his body tumbled down over rocks and twigs. They cut his face and hands and tore at his clothes until the harsh current of the river below broke his fall._

_Being thrown about and thrashed against rocks- Edward was at the water's mercy. As much as he tried to fight the current, it fought back much harder. His head met with the surface of a large boulder, and suddenly he let go. It seemed quiet under the water despite the tumultuous waves being broken against the rocks. He didn't seem to be fighting with the water anymore; rather, he was letting it guide him. To where, he did not know._

_The water filled his lungs, burning as he breathed deep, but there was only mild alarm. He couldn't feel his limbs, nor was he really aware of anything but the iridescent shimmering in the water. He believed it to be the sun at first, finding it comforting that it was the last thing he was going to see, but it wasn't the sun. He saw the tail swim fast past him in a blur of color. Too fast for his now sluggish mind. Its scales shimmered like rows of opal shells, growing larger as it led to the ivory skin of a girl with turquoise hair floating all around her face._

_What a pretty fish, Edward thought as his eyes closed._

_._

_._

_._

_.._

_._

_._

_._

**Still Waters  
**Poison  
Family meetings in the Clearwater-Swan home were never planned, but if there was a problem, everyone would gravitate towards the living room. They would all manage to find themselves there and would occupy their time with the television or their cell phones, not speaking until everyone was present. Seth was doing his homework while Leah watched a trashy talk show and Bella made herself busy with internet research. Sue came from her workshop in the basement and grabbed a mug of tea before sitting next to Seth.

The last to join the group was Charlie, and when he arrived home, he saw them in the living. His first instinct was to panic- a very paternal twinge-in-the-chest-reaction he always felt when he saw them gathered there. Family meetings gave Charlie upset stomach because the absolute worst scenarios would play out in his mind in an instant. Once he saw that everyone appeared to be unharmed, he calmed, if only minutely. He dropped his things by the door and sat beside Sue, squeezing her leg for him to give her some sort of indication as to what was happening. She smiled and shrugged, letting him know that she was as clueless as he was.

"Seth got horny today and almost phased during lunch," Leah said casually as she looked through the televisions on-screen guide.

"_Leah, come on!_" Seth jumped up and started hitting her with a pillow. Leah laughed hysterically as the cushion came down on her head over and over again, blocking every blow.

Bella was amused at the sibling brawl, shutting her laptop and setting it on the coffee table. Sue and Charlie broke it up almost as soon as it began and got the two both back in their seats. He kept giving his sister dirty looks as Leah tried to put her tousled hair in place. Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"I dunno, it just happened," Seth said quietly.

"Well, did anyone see, you think?" Charlie asked carefully, leaning over so he could get a better look at Seth. Sue was in his view, stroking the nape of his hair like she did when he was a little kid. Though Sue would argue that he still very much was.

"I'm not sure," Seth told them honestly. "I think we got out of there pretty fast, but…I just don't know."

"Maybe you should have the talk Seth," Sue suggested.

Seth was practically glowing red by now. "_Ugh,_ _mommy_! Charlie already gave me the talk. I don't want to go through it again."

Bella smirked, remembering the image her the boys talking in Seth's room. She and Leah weren't supposed to have been listening- in fact, they'd been given strict instructions to stay away from the room, but it was too big of a temptation to resist. She remembered the awkward silence and the even more awkward dialogue.

"I meant a talk with someone back on the rez. You're getting older now, and I think it would be good for you to talk with someone who knows what you're going through."

"Hey, maybe we could make a weekend of it. Pack up and go do some fishing…maybe some swimming?" Charlie said, looking over at Bella at the last part, which made her smile.

Seth shrugged, still looking a bit down, "Maybe."

Soon after, the group dispersed (mainly due to Seth immediately vanishing once they'd come to an agreement about that Friday evening). Bella took a break from her research to sit on the back porch. The sun fell slowly in the sky, staining the clouds with lilac and sienna. The strong smell of freshly cut grass lingered with the passing breeze as a whir of a lawn mower lightly hummed somewhere in the background.

The sun later fell between the trees, giving the sky to the moon. The moon brought along a chill in the air that made Bella tremble as the wind blew. Still, she could not bring herself to retreat into her room. There were days when home felt like home, but there were other days when the walls of her home felt like a cage.

The back door creaked as it opened, and the soft shuffle of bare feet on the wood silenced the cricket song beneath the porch. Leah dropped beside Bella with an _oof_ and the smell of freshly baked chocolate cookies.

"Is it that obvious?" Bella asked, slowly turning to Leah's outstretched, cookie-filled hands. Bella found it hard to resist warm cookies- though, it was widely assumed that warm cookies was not something one resisted.

Leah nodded, smiling and chewing animatedly. "It must be harder for you. At least Seth and I can just walk out the back door and go for a run, but with you…well, we can see what it does to you just as easily as you can see the signs in us. You get all jumpy."

"I don't get jumpy!" Bella snapped, therein proving the point.

Leah laughed, "Riiiight. This weekend'll be good for both of you guys."

"If I can even wait that long," Bella muttered reaching for another cookie but was quickly met with Leah's empty palms and her full mouth.

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Nearing the end of school the next day, it was clear to Bella that she couldn't, in fact, wait a few more days until the weekend. Her attention had been elsewhere all throughout her classes. Uncharacteristically, teachers had to call her name more than once, and she even forgot to fill out the back page of an in-class quiz. Her leg bounced as she chewed on a pen cap and felt her nerves tingling from her toes up to the roots of her turquoise hair. She was teeming with anticipation; every person, walking slow in her path and every monotone teacher was growing increasingly irritating as the day dragged on.

When she realized the last class was her free period, a very brilliant and very precarious idea filled her muddled brain. She handed a note to Mrs. Cope in the administrative office which stated that she was excused from her last class for a doctor's appointment. Mrs. Cope didn't think twice at the note as she smiled and put it in a pile designated early absences. It wasn't difficult to replicate her father's chicken scratch block letters or his signature that resembled a 2.3 on the Richter scale.

On her way out the door, Bella came upon her friend, Angela, looking around quite suspiciously for what seemed to be someone's car. Bella called out just loud enough for her voice to carry across the parking lot. Angela spun around, making her peasant skirt float and her bangles clang together.

"Ha! You scared me!" Angela said, clutching her chest. "I thought you were…well, nevermind. Where are _you_ off to?"

"I kind've err…-" Bella stalled, glancing towards the woodland across the way. "Just needed to get out for a bit."

Angela nodded meaningfully, "Ah, I understand. Say no more."

"I could ask you the same question. You don't have a free period now."

"Weeellll, let's just say my investigation is coming to a close." Angela smiled in the way she often did when she was up to no good.

"Almost forgot about your secret mission. Is that why you haven't been around? You've been collecting more clues?"

"Just because you haven't seen me, doesn't mean I haven't been around."

"Touché," Bella replied slowly. She didn't know whether to find Angela's behavior comical or frightening. Often times when the two spent time together Bella found herself teetering between the two. "Care to tell me what you've found out?"

Angela put up her finger in protest, "No, not until this experiment is over. I'll have some solid evidence then. Ooh, this is gonna blow you away!"

"All I ask is that you don't go blowing yourself up again, Weber. Anyway, I'll see you around. Or I guess…maybe I won't?"

Angela beamed, not able to stand still in her spot, "Ya never know. Bye-bye!"

After saluting Angela, Bella made a dash across the road towards the woods, growing more impatient with every eager footstep. She was almost dancing as she walked, lightly touching each tree with her fingertips as if she were declaring her return. She smiled once the trees completely obscured the road behind her in the distance, following the path to the water. The worn soles of her sneakers helped her slide down the embankment with great ease. Before long, she skidded to a halt as the bottom of the hill and was met with smooth, round stones at the river's edge.

Her hands were little leaves, trembling in the wind with anticipation as she unfastened her shirt. Somehow Bella managed to safely remove her top without losing a single button while simultaneously scoping her surroundings for hikers or the occasional eccentric wanderer. She folded her clothes neatly and set them under a large fern. Her bare skin tingled from cold air as she slowly walked towards the water. The freezing water nipped at her toes, but the cold did not deter her lithe steps. It only drew her near, pulling her in until her body was fully submerged.

She let her body float to the top and soon felt the pins and needles sensation in her toes. The feeling slowly moved upwards to her knees, paralyzing her legs. The fear made her laugh even as a force pulled her down under the current. This part always made her panic, despite how many times she had gone through this change. Bella had been away from the water too long. She painfully inhaled the water, coughing and clawing at her chest as her humanity fought. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, the burn lessened and her legs gently bound together- skin and bone becoming one. Opalescent scales formed up her fin as gills broke out at her neck.

Her chest grew warm with the new excitement this form always brought her. She ran her fingers over the scales on her tail as if it were the first time again. Bubbles released from her mouth while she laughed underwater. Her belly touched the sand at the bottom of the river when she took off against the current, enjoying the challenge the resistance brought. And when her muscles ached, she relaxed them, letting the water carry her back downstream like an autumn leaf on the waves. It was then that she felt the change around her.

Much like a bird felt change in the air during flight, Bella felt a poison in the water. Something did not belong. Something very foreign and flawed. The feeling was familiar- still it was unwelcomed. When she saw the boy's pallid face, she recognized the poison in the water to be death.

He was looking at her with eyes closing and his arms floating weightlessly above his head. She dove to grab his arm and pull him up above the surface while her gills became flush with her skin, quickly disappearing. The change was happening too fast as she willed herself back onto the two legs, crawling onto the river's edge and dragging his lifeless body out of the water. Her chest tightened as the stress on her heart grew tenfold. She somehow mustered the strength to gasp for air and force breath into his lungs. Over and over, she pushed down on his chest until she heard his chest suddenly filled with air on its own.

He sputtered and gurgled, rolling over away from her on his side He groaned as his body was wracked with violent coughs. He turned to face his savior, but was met with nothing but the ferocious river that nearly took his life. She was nowhere, and for a moment, he believed it to be a hallucination- his imagination pulling for a pleasant last thought. Logic told him he'd simply been thrown ashore.

But beside him, halfway buried between rocks and sand lay an opalescent scale. And that told a very different story.

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_once upon a time there lived a girl who said she would update once a week, but she lied to the townspeople. she lied like a rug._

_in my defense, this **had been **written already, but i kept changing the ending. literally was stuck on three paragraphs. swear to bob, i** just** deleted a whole scene again, but i do believe i'm happy with this now. characteristically, my story gets featured in the **tls nursery**, and i have writer's block (more like writer's detour, but whatever). very thankful **the lemonade stand** thought this was worthy to keep an eye on. especially when i'd been getting a little discouraged with writing this and such. generated a lot more readers and follows. thank you all for the lovely reviews and support.  
~mona_

p.s. what the heck is angela's deal, amiright?  



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